The Art of Being Real
by Reivity
Summary: Drabbles, oneshots and challenges for the pairing Axel/Repliku.
1. 50x1

**disclaimer**: don't own it, never will. and quite honestly, i don't want to. fanfiction's too much fun.  
**dedications**: for **leah** and **raeni-hime**. my axel-muses. (:

* * *

**#01 - Ring  
**The replica had scoffed when Axel gave it to him - cheap silver-painted plastic and an overlarge aqua 'jewel' ("_It matches your eyes!"_) - but the Nobody noted, smiling to himself, that Liku refused to take it off.

-x-

**#02 - Hero  
**Axel doesn't know what to say when he suddenly has a lapful of sobbing replica; he can only wrap his arms around the smaller boy awkwardly until he's finally calmed down enough to speak - "I wanted to be a hero."

-x-

**#03 - Memory  
**He's living with a body that isn't his and a head full of fake memories, and he's almost content with that - until he's left slumped against a wall, with the lingering taste of _Axel_ on his tongue and a memory that is distinctly his own.

-x-

**#04 - Box  
**"If Xemnas kicks you out, I'd have to go with you, and you wouldn't have any money and you can't get a job because you're _scary_ looking and we'd have to live in a cardboard box under a bridge and get mugged and _die_, Axel."

-x-

**#05 - Wings**  
"So we're really jumping?" the replica's voice is shaking as he peers over the edge of the building; the Nobody grins and nods in response - "Good thing we have wings."

-x-

**#06 - God  
**"If there was a god, you'd have a heart and I wouldn't exist," he murmurs, burying his face into the redhead's cloak; "I don't know if I like it better this way or not."

-x-

**#07 - Run  
**"Ready?" he asks; and the replica glares - Axel only laughs and tugs at his hand, "running start!"

-x-

**#08 - Cold  
**Axel's skin almost _burns_ to touch - his body radiates heat as intense as the fire he controls; the replica's excuse for crawling into the Nobody's bed every night is that his own is too cold.

-x-

**#09 - Red  
**Liku had never really liked the color red - it represented blood and rage and flowers he'd always hated - until he met Axel, and realized why people called it the color of love.

-x-

**#10 - Drink  
**"I wonder," Axel muses aloud, "what it would take to get you in a dress," and Liku answers without thinking - "I'd have to be drunk off my ass;" he can only blame himself when the redhead 'discreetly' slips vodka into his drink.

-x-

**#11 - Midnight  
**It's past midnight when Axel returns - tired, dirty, and thoroughly demoralized - but Repliku's warm smile makes up for his disappointments.

-x-

**#12 - Temptation**  
Axel, Liku thinks, is forbidden fruit - a Nobody can't feel, much less _love_, especially not a _fake_ like him; he knows it, but he can't stop himself from reaching out.

-x-

**#13 - View  
**"It's pretty," the replica says, wanting to break the silence as they stare out over the Dark City - Axel's reply of '_you're prettier_' only earns him a punch to the chest.

-x-

**#14 - Music  
**No matter what the rest of the Organization says, Axel will always believe that their late night ministrations are absolutely _musical_.

-x-

**#15 - Silk  
**"Silk sheets, Axel?" Liku raises an incredulous eyebrow at the Nobody's bed; Axel leans over his shoulder, practically purring in his ear, "it's sexy, right?"

-x-

**#16 - Motion  
**The way he moves is unnatural - the overdelicate placement of his feet when he walks, the practiced subtly of his gestures - every motion reminds Axel that it's only a replica.

-x-

**#17 - Promise  
**"Promise me," he whispers, and Axel thinks the desperation in his voice would break his heart if he had one; he turns away so he doesn't have to see the replica's expression when he says "I can't."

-x-

**#18 - Dream  
**"You talk in your sleep, you know, " he starts, grinning at the blush spreading across the shorter's cheeks; "it's nice to know you dream about me."

-x-

**#19 - Candle  
**They stood outside, watching the castle burn as Demyx hopelessly tried to douse the flames and the rest of the Organization contributed in whatever way they could to keep it alight; Liku glanced up at Axel and sighed - "trust _you_ to mess up lighting a candle."

-x-

**#20 - Talent  
**If Axel ever had any inhibitions - based on Xigbar's screaming 'JAILBAIT!' at ever opportunity - they disappeared when he realized just how talented the replica's tongue was.

-x-

**#21 - Silence  
**Amongst Nobodies, silence is absolute (they are, after all, nothingness, and _nothing_ has no sound); the beating of the replica's heart, however fake it may be, is beautiful in the empty corridors.

-x-

**#22 - Journey  
**When Axel says 'we're leaving,' Liku doesn't question it, doesn't ask where they're going or if they'll be back - it doesn't matter, as long as he's not left behind.

-x-

**#23 - Fire  
**Repliku watches impassively as Axel's rage turns tangible, barely raises an eyebrow when the flames lick at the walls and ignite the furniture - and when all that's left is ashes and dull red cinders, he slips quietly into the redhead's embrace, nuzzling into his chest and muttering half-apologies into the fabric of his cloak.

-x-

**#24 - Strength  
**It takes him a moment to realize he's being carried - in those first fuzzy seconds of waking, it almost seems like he's floating - and once he does he's convinced he's hallucinating, because there's no way _Axel's_ skinny arms could hold him up.

-x-

**#25 - Mask  
**The replica has always hidden behind an arrogant, vaguely indifferent mask - he is, after all, supposed to be _Riku_ - but one careless graze of Axel's hand across his cheek shatters the illusion completely.

-x-

**#26 - Ice  
**"Fine, be that way," the Nobody says, scowling; Repliku turns to walk out, and halfway over the threshold Axel mutters, just loud enough for him to hear, 'ice princess' - he breaks the door slamming it.

-x-

**#27 - Fall  
**Liku likes to consider himself a very graceful creature - but of course, on the rare occasion that he does trip, Axel is always there to catch him with a smug grin and sarcastic comment.

-x-

**#28 - Forgotten  
**He doesn't _quite_ remember how Axel got into his room, nor does he recall, exactly, when he invited the Nobody into his bed - but waking up curled against his favorite redhead makes up for what he's forgotten.

-x-

**#29 - Dance  
**"I can't dance, Axel," Liku states, eying the outstretched hand wearily; Axel scoffs and pulls the unwilling replica into position - "That's just because you've never tried."

-x-

**#30 - Body  
**He has memorized every inch of Axel's body - every darkness-healed battle scar, every tattoo (because he _does_ have more than just the ones on his face), every curve and sharp angle - everything no one else is allowed to see.

-x-

**#31 - Sacred  
**"He's convinced that thing's gonna give us hearts;" Liku tilted his head at the heart-shaped moon - "That's a pretty good reason to worship it."

-x-

**#32 - Farewells  
**"Are you going to let go?" Axel asks; Liku thinks for a moment, before tightening his hold and shaking his head - ("Liku, I have to g--" "No," "I'll be back soo--" "No!") - eventually, Axel gives up and portals, clingy replica and all, to Xemnas' office to tell him to give someone else his mission.

-x-

**#33 - World  
**There are nights, when neither has anything better to do and the sky is clear enough, that they'll sit together and watch the stars go out, and eventually the replica only feels the faintest twinge of regret knowing that yet another world has been lost.

-x-

**#34 - Formal  
**Axel complains loudly about how _utterly stupid_ this is - 'Xemnas was obviously on something from _Wonderland_ when he came up with this; no one's even gonna _see_ us, why do I have to wear a suit?' - while Liku stands outside his door and tells him to '_hurry up or the Superior'll Dusk you'_; when he finally opens the door, grumbling and pulling irritably at his tie, the replica is speechless.

-x-

**#35 - Fever  
**Axel's hands in his hair, the rawness in his voice as he's screaming his name, the almost desperate pleas for _more_ - it ignites the replica's blood in a way that has nothing to do with illness.

-x-

**#36 - Laugh  
**Liku decides, early one morning when he would really rather be sleeping but a certain Nobody has invaded his room with no respect for the fact that he'd only gone to bed an hour ago, that he loves _everything_ about Axel - from his obnoxious hair to his jutting hipbones and that _annoying_ grin he always has when he's trying to keep himself from laughing.

-x-

**#37 - Lies  
**The note on the bedside table was _evil_, the familiar messy scrawl of '_Repliku_' taunted him endlessly as he debated opening it or simply throwing it away (he knew what was in it, anyway - yet another half page of lies and excuses, calling him 'kitten' at least once and signed with an annoyingly ironic heart); in the end, he left it where it was, curled up in Axel's bed and went back to sleep.

-x-

**#38 - Forever  
**"Eventually you'll leave me too, and I'll have to find an--" Axel stopped short, blinking down at the silver-haired boy; the replica didn't look up, but Axel _knew_ he was smirking as he told him, "shut up, stupid - I'll stay with you forever."

-x-

**#39 - Overwhelmed  
**The first time, it's the _feeling_ that takes him over, blanking out everything else to leave him utterly breathless.

-x-

**#40 - Whisper  
**Axel is _always_ loud - when he talks, when he _moans_, when he's been told to _shut the fuck up before you wake the entire fucking castle -_ but Liku almost has to strain to hear it when the Nobody say 'I love you.'

-x-

**#41 - Wait  
**"I'll wait for you," he said, and Axel swore his heart stopped.

-x-

**#42 - Talk  
**It didn't take long for Repliku to realize that Axel _really_ liked the sound of his own voice - but that's okay, because he liked it too, and there was no better way to spend his time than listening to the Nobody rant.

-x-

**#43 - Search  
**Every time they kiss, the replica looks into Axel's eyes as if he's hoping to find something precious within their emerald depths; every time, he looks away disappointed.

-x-

**#44 - Hope  
**When Axel is away on missions, all Liku can do is hope that he won't find what he's looking for - because he knows that if the spiky-haired blonde ever does show up, he'll be abandoned or discarded like a broken toy.

-x-

**#45 - Wrong  
**"There's nothing wrong with this," he whispers, eyes downcast as Axel walks away; "I'm a fake and you don't exist - there _can't_ be anything wrong with it."

-x-

**#46 - Gravity  
**The reality of what he'd just done didn't hit him until the last tendrils of darkness slipped away from his fingers - and when it did, he stumbled back, straight into the arms of the Nobody who'd manipulated him into it; the replica tensed at the feeling of hot lips on his ear, followed by Axel's smooth voice telling him he'd get used to it.

-x-

**#47 - Highway  
**Somewhere between the World That Never Was and Halloween Town - possibly around the time Axel deemed that auto-pilot was no longer necessary - Liku decided that he was never letting the Nobody drive again.

-x-

**#48 - Unknown  
**"So... what happens now?" Liku asks, glancing expectantly at the redhead; Axel is ashamed to admit that he doesn't know.

-x-

**#49 - Lock  
**The replica blinked at Demyx's fleeing back, then turned to raise an eyebrow at the Nobody struggling back into his pants - "I _told_ you to lock the door."

-x-

**#50 - Breathe  
**He _feels_ it when Vexen dies - the entire world seems warmer without him, a sudden change from winter to spring - and the first thing he does when he sees Axel is kiss him, because finally he can _breathe_.

* * *

**IT'S NOT OKAY TO NOT REVIEW.**  
even if you hated them and want to burn me alive  
review. :/ i want to know.

and go read/review **axeleah**'s because they're better than mine.


	2. A Lack of Color

He was a fake. This fact was quite literally beaten into him from the moment he came into existence. And fakes aren't people. He was a living doll, a mannequin with a beating heart and a brain filled with someone else's memories. He had Riku's personality, down to the speech patterns - and Riku was prone to bouts of restless angst. On the island, he walked on the beach and hit things with his wooden sword until he was back to normal, but the Replica couldn't do that. Not allowed out of this room (this overlarge, colorless room with nothing but a bed and and a black crayon hidden under the mattress) without supervision.

He paced, mumbling to himself and occasionally glancing at the place he'd stashed the crayon - remnants from the girl he thought he'd loved. There was a loathing slowly settling in his fabricated heart for her, white-blonde hair and eyes the color he supposed the sky was, and the boy she'd broken him for. The original Riku's best friend, savior of everything.

He wrote on the walls. Huge, scrawling nonwords, half-finished scribbles of ersatz and fading memories - a raft, a tree, a door - until his crayon was a tiny sliver of black wax on the tip of his finger. He shoved it into his pillow case and slept.

x

He saw fire when he woke up.

Controlled flames licking the walls, serpents of red and gold tracing over every one of his drawings, making lines into words that seemed like poetry. He watched them with mild interest as they crept towards his bed, half convinced he was dreaming, and closed his eyes when they set his sheets alight.

x

Green eyes.

They were staring at him - no, into him, through his skin to his spurious soul. They didn't blink, didn't move. The face they inhabited was stoic, a mildly downturned mouth and sharp features and tiny blue diamonds on the cheekbones. The hair was a mess of crimson spikes, piercing the air with their pointed tips, defying every law of gravity the clone could conjure into his deteriorating mind.

It was hours before he spoke, his low, rough voice shattering the silence of the room like glass.

"Who are you?"

The Replica didn't know how to answer.

x

He was Axel. Just Axel, no subtext or captions. Axel liked fire and talking and the replica was very soon used to both of these things, though he rarely said more than a few syllables and always shied away from the flames. Axel didn't have a bed - the powers that be hadn't seen it fit to give him one. The replica gave his up, curling himself up in the corner for two nights before Axel had demanded that they share.

Axel was terrifying, tended to fall into manic rage with no warning and set the walls on fire. He apologized afterward, every time, burning hands threading through the replica's silver hair, repeated words pressed against his forehead. It took exactly twelve of these episodes for the replica to move, fingers twitching against Axel's spine, arms held awkwardly in some semblance of an embrace.

x

Axel's smile was sunshine.

They touched constantly. Fingers brushed as they sat beside each other on the bed, noses pressed together after a violent fit that blackened half the room, arms wrapped around each other as they slept. Axel liked his hair, always caressed it in a way that made the replica sigh. Axel took to calling him 'kitten,' stating that the clone was like a cat - curled up all the time, except when he was sprawled on the floor with his head in Axel's lap, humming to the rhythm of the fingers through his hair.

Axel asked his name; he frowned and said he didn't have one. (A defective copy doesn't get to call itself the original.) Axel was silent for hours, absently stroking the replica's hair until his mouth moved to say 'Liku.' He didn't explain, only pressed his lips to the newly named clone's cheek and suggested that they go to bed.

x

Axel was warm.

There was no heartbeat beneath that searing skin.

Liku lay with his ear pressed to Axel's chest, listening for hours until he fell asleep to the silence, and awoke to a mass of red occupying his vision. He could feel the smile against his skin, raised a hand to touch Axel's shoulder. It was a sad smile, when he saw it. It broke his imitation heart.

His fingertips grazed Axel's cheekbones and he kissed every inkling of sadness away.

x

They had grown used to each other. Liku-kitten and Axel - they didn't exist separately, they thrived on touches and inaudible words and mania and melancholy and one without one is absolutely nothing.

Axel's disappearance was devastating.

Liku woke up freezing, desperately searched the greying room for the only color he'd ever seen.

Nothing.

He cried, body-wracking sobs and gasping breaths. Then he slept, cocooning himself in his sheet and curling as close to himself as he could manage, slept for days and days until the anger hit him like an electric shock, propelling him from the empty bed across the room, tearing at the charred walls. He scrawled Axel's name on the little white that remained, the ash on his fingertips more effective than the bit of wax in his pillowcase.

Eventually, the only white left was his hair, and he couldn't taint that - it was Axel's, every strand having been graced with the touch of those gorgeous hands. He couldn't ruin that.

The transition into nonexistence was swift - one thought, one motion, one instant, and he was gone.

xxx

interpret it as you will  
because i have no fucking idea.


End file.
